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Welcome in to the scores official post lottery NHL mockdraft show. We now know who's picking where. So, it's time for us to tell you who's actually being picked. We've got the top shelf cast with me. Kyle Kushman, John Mattis, Josh Wegman coming at you guys from the score studios in Toronto where no less than 24 hours ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs swooped in and took the number one pick. Absolute mayhem. We've got a couple diehard Leafs fans on here. Actually, three of us, just John, I was going to say, who are we leaving out here? Um, so Kyle, yourself being a diehard Leaf fan with the first overall pick in the 2026
NHL draft, Toronto selects who? Gavin McKenna. Uh there's a lot of discussion around this draft pick and I think we're going to get into a lot of the options here. But ultimately, despite all the names that I think about that could be good fits for the Maple Leafs at top the draft board, nobody has the highest upside, the highest potential to be a franchise changing, gamechanging player than Gavin McKenna. There's going to be bumps in the road. He's not a perfect player. There are flaws to his game, but ultimately when you're at top the draft board, you're looking for those franchise altering pieces you can only get at the first or second or third overall picks, usually just the first
overall. And I think Gavin McKenna is the player in this draft class that fits the bill the most. When you think about his offensive upside, when you think about what he can do in the offensive zone as a power play creator, the way we saw his game flourish in the back half of the season at Penn State after some early uh early season struggles, I think we saw his game grow quite a bit in the second half to the point where there might have been some more questions in the first half of the season about him being at top the draft board, but ultimately for me coming out of the season going into the draft here for the Maple Leafs, I think he's the best player in the draft. I think is the highest potential player in the draft
and that combination for me still has him number one at top the board in the first overall selection here for the Maple Leafs. Do you guys all agree? I think it's the right choice but you know to play devil's advocate and also to put ourselves in the shoes of the Leafs like they need to have a debate here. They need to think about it critically and you know if you put yourself in the room with the three leaders right now Keith Py, John Chica Keith P should have no input on this pick. From what we've seen, he will certainly at least have a What does his AI tell him about?
Exactly. And then you got Matt Sundine. So, you know, in all seriousness, put yourself in the shoes of Keith Py. He wants to sell jerseys. He's a businessman. That's McKenna. You're you got your thumbs up for McKenna all day. You know, you go to Chaikica. This guy thinks outside the box. That's kind of his whole angle on hockey. Does he think, "Oh, I'll trade back and get a defenseman and then I'll get multiple assets and let's rock and roll because the Leafs for what, two decades have needed a franchise defenseman." And then you go over to Sundine who probably is a mechanic guy is probably leading that way. But hey, you know, Stenberg is Swedish. He has this sort of uh um reputation as a leader. He has, you
know, a well-rounded game. Like there's maybe an argument to be made that Stenberg is also another good option there. So it's it's if they hadn't changed their management group and it was just Bradree Living and it was sort of business as usual, I think there would be less of a debate, but I feel like the sort of chaotic nature of the last few days opens the window, opens the door for perhaps more discussion uh given the way that their hockey operations group is set up now. That's my question for you, Kyle, is given that we just saw the Leafs kind of big brain the general manager position and go way outside the box, is there any world where Toronto goes outside the box a little bit too much once again and doesn't take Gavin McKenna?
Oh, there's absolutely a world. And I think there's like a justified reason to maybe go in a different direction. Like you think about Ivar Stenberg, who's the other player at top the draft class. When you think about the two potentially most talented players in the draft, similar sized wingers, so it's not like a positional thing, but Stenberg has played against men in Sweden this season. Matt Sundine has been there for years and years, so I'm sure he's well knowledgeable in terms of what Stenberg has done this season, but he's a more competitive player. He's a better defensive player. He plays more on the inside versus McKenna, who is a bit more of the power play scorer, maybe a little
more to the outside. And when you think about what the Maple Leafs have been for the past 10 years, it you can see a world where you can be talked into a different direction. The other thing is defenseman. And John, you mentioned how long the Maple Leafs have wanted a defenseman of that caliber. You can only get those defenseman really at the top of the draft. Now, do you want to go and take a Chase Reed or somebody like that at the top of the draft when you have these potential impact wingers available? I'm less certain about that as much as I like Chase Reed, but certainly there's a debate that the Leafs will have here. And it is not McKenna as the clear-cut slam dunk number one like it was last year with
Schaefer like it was in years past with Celibbrini Baddard. This is much more of an actual debate that the Leafs have to have. But ultimately I think when you come down to it what we've seen from McKenna this year the progression like if McKenna played in Junior and this is the thing I keep coming back to. if McKenna stayed in Medicine hat and we didn't have these NCAA rule changes and he puts up almost like 200 points or whatever the point total would have been this season because it would have been something like he had like what 130 points or something like that and it's T minus one and Medicine had to wagon again this year like if he puts up those numbers he's the no doubt number one and yet he went to a different place he's a
better player today because of it and yet there's more questions about it so that's kind of part of what I keep coming back to in terms of the player that McKenna is here. But like Josh, I'm curious for you like how much of a debate do you think this will be? I would go for McKenna as well. I mean, I think you just want that high upside at this point in the draft. But I do think again, we haven't seen this in so long, but would a team really want to push up to the draft and would the Leafs consider trading down? I think you would have to entertain that if there is a team that's offering you something else. Like say Chicago really wants McKenna to pair with Baddard and they have all these other picks and prospects. Maybe
they throw in another first or something. I think that's something you at least have to consider and you can still get a real cornerstone D or center at number four. Yeah. I was talking to an NHL executive this morning and I just threw it out there. Hey, is it McKenna in a heartbeat for you or is there should there be a debate? And he said, you know, it's not McKenna in the heartbeat because I really like Stenberg, you know, the competitive style, the well-roundedness, like that style of game translates better to the playoffs. And then he als the this executive also pointed out like is McKenna just sort of the best and worst of Matthews and Mner like are they just getting
another type of player who will put up a ton of points in the regular season and maybe hit a wall in the playoffs like you know I don't want to over judge or be overly harsh on an 18-year-old who knows maybe he's going to be a fantastic uh playoff player but like if you think about it Stenberg McKenna these are two different styles and one is more aligned with kind of what Toronto's had for the last decade. We also saw this year what happens when you don't have that player for the Maple Leafs. Yeah, they're in the position. You're not even in the playoffs. Yeah, they don't have MNER and yeah, things have gone. [snorts] You just end up getting the first overall pick again. Uh I think except they don't have the picks for the
next two years. I think you have to assume elite talents eventually produce in the playoffs even though that just didn't come to fruition. Yeah, I mean seem to figure it out now that he's elsewhere. So I'm I'm taking McKenna. I don't know. The other part of it but like is that McKenna's on an ELC for the next three years, right? making one million on the cap oruge more than that with bonuses. But that's a huge difference when you talk about the timeline of that and the salary structure and all of that versus what a lot of the debate was with the previous iteration of the Leafs, which was everyone making money all at the same time and
all of the things that came with that. So, um I understand kind of looking at the Leafs situation of the past and being like, do you want to go into this situation again? But I think it's too different a situation with where the Leafs are at now. Okay, Gavin McKenna, first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs on to pick number two. A guy that we've talked about a lot. There's a 1A, there's a 1B. Uh underrated, like kind of understated. This what the San Jose Sharks did last night. They went from around pick nine all the way to pick two. This is the third straight year they've had what a top two pick with Celibbrini and then last year with Michael Misa. So insane. Uh do you think it's Stenberg for the Sharks, John?
I think so. And I but I at the same time I don't feel great about this. they could easily trade back. They could pick a defenseman because if you look at their prospect pipeline, if you look at the guys who are young on their NHL roster, it's mostly forwards and then Sam Dickinson basically on defense. So, there's certainly an argument to be made for taking say Trace Reed here, the right-handed defenseman that will presumably go in the top five in our mock draft. But, I think what it would come down to for me if I'm Mike Greer is you pick the best player available. Like, don't overthink it. This is the second overall pick.
Don't Galaxy brain this. And I think, you know, if you pulled, I don't know, 30 scouts, I think probably 25 would say that Stenberg is ahead of Reed in terms of that second tier. And, you know, like there's something to be said for just continuing to add depth to your forward group. I mean, they've got Celabbrini. So, does Stenberg go on his left wing for the next 15 years? Will Smith on the right wing? Is Will Smith on the right wing? Is Stenberg driving his own line? Is he with Michael Misa? You've got Colin Graph in there. You got Chernikov. Like they just have blend that forward.
Like they already have like six really good young forwards that have a lot of versatility. Add another guy in there and then figure out the defense later. Yeah. The other side to it is this is the last time in what 10, 15 years the San Jose Sharks are probably going to be picking at this spot. We don't know that, but probably we don't know that. But the trajectory that they're on with these forwards and what celebr also were supposed to get the ninth overall pick and are getting the second instead.
It is like the perfect scenario where like they take off as a team just missed the playoffs but still the vibes are very good and then they get amazing lottery luck and now they've got another franchise cornerstone coming their way. Yeah, if they don't have Demetri Orav as like their top defenseman, I have a feeling they're not going to be picking here in this range here. But that's the debate for me and like my initial reaction was oh my gosh, they have this opportunity to have Sam Dickinson and then pair him with an even better defenseman. But the more I think about it and when I saw you pop Stenberg into the conversation here, the more and more I like the idea of it.
Like he fits so perfectly with Celibbrini on a line. He fits so perfectly with Michael Misa on a line. Like the we talked about it a little bit in the previous discussion about the competitive uh competitiveness that he plays with the two-way game that he plays with is so exciting with any of those players. And I do think he's the legitimately second best player in this draft. So if you're have the opportunity to take a talent like that, don't pass on it to make the mistake that ultimately when you look a few years ago the New Jersey Devils did when they selected second overall jump up in the draft lottery. They take Simone Neich at the second overall pick take the defenseman there instead of Logan Culie
and that's a decision that they probably would love to redo if you go back to that. Yeah, Jack Hughes Logan would be pretty nice one too. [snorts] Pretty good one too. Nice. All right, so we got McKenna first, we got Stenberg second, third overall. the team that uh got shafted the most in this lottery, the Vancouver Conucks. They finished dead last by 14 points and they get the third overall pick. A lot of people are obviously feeling bad for them, myself included. But then there's a handful of people who are saying are do you really feel bad for them though? I feel bad for them with how bad they were, how much
they tanked. They absolutely, you know, the whole team and franchise a complete uh flip over basically was getting Quinn Hughes out the door and now here they are at third. Who do you have the Vancouver Conucks taking here, uh, Josh? So, they got shafted the most, but they still end up with a really good player that they should be really excited about, and I'm giving them Chase Reed, the defenseman from the Sue, uh, you know, 6'2, right shot, really gifted offensively. I think the idea of building a blue line around Reed and Zeve should be really exciting for Canucks fans. I did consider Caleb Melhotra, the Brford Center. Obvious ties with his father, Manny. Uh, he's the head coach of the AHL team. He played for the
Canucks, of course. future Vancouver Knox had probably V. Yeah, for sure. But I think uh I think Reed pretty much consensus best player on the board. So, this is a pretty easy pick for me. Now that you mentioned that, like I can totally see a world where they take him. It's like uh they're kind of like conflict of good interest. Maybe they're like, we don't want to go down the American defenseman path again. We just did that trying to rebuild everything. Um, but I think Reed's the better player, but I could absolutely I mean they owe it to Manny Mahotra for what that 2011 playoff run that he got winning in all those faceoffs. Uh, you guys agree though Chase Reed's the
pick first defenseman off the board. Chase Reed is the player I like the most here at this pick. Uh, I like I've been blown away with this guy's progression. Like in terms of the progression that we've seen from players in these draft cycles, this is a guy that a little over a year and a half ago was playing in the NHL after being cut by a USHL team. He got picked up by the Sue in like December uh like a year and a half ago and just completely takes off from there. Big fan of his game. I think he's a great offensive defenseman, great transitional defenseman, and I think he's the best player on the board. And when you're a team in Vancouver shoes, you need everything whatever you can get at this pick. And I think he's the best
player, best option. I will say to Kan Knox fans like this guy passed my eye test as more than anybody when I was watching the World Juniors. There was one guy that stood out but I wasn't familiar and I was like who is that guy and it was Chase Reed. Do you have a Hall of Famer comp for him? Uh yeah actually we should get into that probably right shot 6'2. I'm thinking like is this the next Eric Carlson? Okay. Here we go. There you go. Canucks Levis's comparable. He gets the next Eric Carlson. Okay. Back to fourth. We go back to you Kyle who's the pick here for the Chicago Blackhawks. just mentioned him. Caleb Malhotra, you think about what he we
just talked about like a guy who's been on a crazy progression the past couple years. Played last year in the BCHL, didn't have like insane numbers, plays in the OHL this year because of the NCAA rule changes and has become Brandford's best player. His playoff run just ended, but he's second in OHL playoff scoring and led his team in playoff scoring on a team that has three other forwards that were drafted in the first round in the NHL. One of them including a top 10 pick and Jake O'Brien. extremely impressive player this season. You mentioned already Manny Malhotra is his dad, so he has those NHL ties, but he's the top center clear-cut in this draft class.
Um, and his progression this year in the OHL, what he's done on a top team in the OHL, but also his 2-way reliability, great at both ends of the ice and the offense he's shown more and more makes you feel more and more that he could become a first line center. But for me, it's even more about like his fit with the forwards that the Blackhawks have here. like he plays a bit more that responsible two-way game and like his fit with any of the plethora of young forwards that the Blackhawks have. I'm really excited by that potential and I think the idea of adding another top forward here to that mix is a really intriguing idea here for Chicago.
Okay, there we go. Caleb Malhotra forced the Chicago Blackhawks on to pick five. It's the New York Rangers. Who do you got for us, John? Carson Carl. And you know, there's a real debate here in terms of there's Katon Verhoff on the board. uh who shoots right, Carl shoots left. So, but what I like about this selection is that, you know, he's he has higher upside offensively. I really like the booming shot. I like the all-around ability. I think that Verhoff is very appealing, but he's I feel like his ceiling isn't super high.
Like, I feel like he's going to play in the league for, you know, 15 20 years in the top four and be, you know, very stable and very helpful to a winning team. But I think if you're at fifth, you got to shoot for the moon a little bit more. And I think that's what the Rangers would do here. Okay, [snorts] Carl's uh fifth to the Rangers. Another team here that uh certainly got shafted a bit as our uh former host Aiden Tacker would love to tell you that the Calgary Flames still no top what top five pick. They've never had a top three pick and they've only had one top four and it was Sam Bennett in Yes, there it is. Uh, so yeah, Calgary Flame back on the board, right where they love to be, right around sixth overall.
Uh, who do you got them going with, Josh? I got them going with Katon Verhoff, a guy who even though they haven't picked in the top three ever, they got a guy who many projected wants to be a top three lock. You know, his stocks maybe a little down, but again, I think this is still a player that Flames fans would be super excited about. 6'4, right-handed D, you know, is super physical, great point shot, already played at North Dakota this year. I thought he was good for Canada at the World Juniors in more of a depth role. And I just really like the fit as you have Zay Prek anchoring an offensive pair one day and then in that next pair behind him, you have Katon Verhoff anchoring more of that
shutdown pair. And I think, you know, right-handed defenseman don't grow on trees. So, I think that's a luxury that they would love to have, especially six foot four ones as well, right? Like when you think about that. But for me, like looking at like the Carl's and Verhoff thing, like I do like Carl's more, but part of it again, we talked about it earlier, the NCAA thing I keep coming back to where if Verhoff was playing junior again this season, how do his numbers compare to Carl's? And the thing that I have as more of a differentiator here is I have some more concerns in Verhoff's game in terms of like some of the skating, some of the decisions, some of the puck handling things in the defensive zone, but certainly like the potential is
there to be like a big time shutdown defenseman with his size comps for Exactly. There's a lot of him at that age which is good but not necessarily like your top three top four that we were potentially talking about a year ago at this time where it was like McKenna Verhop one two who's going to go one between those two guys but I do like the fit here because he doesn't have to be that top power play guy quarterback. He can play on the first power play unit as a shot threat but he doesn't have to be the guy in all situations. So I like the fit here for Calgary. Yeah. There we go. So, Flames fans, I'm sorry you didn't get a top five, top three pick, but you got a guy who was compared to a former first overall pick and a guy who was a top three pick in
our books like a few months ago. So, as close as the Flames are going to get. Hopefully, you take it. Um, so we have the top six. I feel like there's I don't know that like it's mostly just with Vhoff and the name that he's been for so long, but there feels like there's a bit of a cut off here where like those are the guys that feel like they'll all be in the top six. Seven through 10 is kind of where things get mixed up a bit more. So, we'll start with you, Kyle. The Kraken are picking seven. And who do you have them going with? Do they finally take a defenseman in the first round? They've not taken a defenseman in the first round in their entire history. And it feels like every
year I do one of these mock drafts now. I take a defenseman waiting for them to finally break the streak. Ron Francis isn't there anymore. They got to do it eventually and I have them doing it here. Uh Daxon Rudolph I have going to Seattle here. He's a player that led Prince Albert in scoring this season in the regular season, is leading them in scoring in the playoffs. And this is a team that is still playing hockey all the way deep in the playoffs. So, this is a guy who's been the top defenseman, top scorer on a very good WHL team. Um, and as a defenseman, he's a guy that is going to power quarterback
of power play at the next level. And I think when you look at some of the characteristics that you might want in a top 10 defenseman, especially for a team like Seattle that has been maybe lacking some high-end upside at forwards in terms of the offensive potential, I think opting for somebody that might be more of an impact offensive defenseman at the NHL in the top 10 here makes maybe a bit more sense than maybe some stronger defensive options. So, I think the season that Rudolph has had, the impact he's had on a top team in the WHL, I think has him maybe sneaking up the board a little bit higher than some people might be anticipating up to number seven here for Seattle.
Okay, I like the fit. Finally get their defenseman in the first round. John pick number eight. The Winnipeg Jets, a team who I think when we last sat down to do this, we had them picking first and then they decided to get hot at the end of the season for who knows why. And now they have the eighth overall pick. Their ball was close though. I don't know if you guys saw, but that Jets balls was right there behind the Leafs. [clears throat] Uh, who do you have Olympic Jets taking? I'll go with the fifth defenseman in eight picks. Okay. Yeah. Albert Smiths out of Latafia. You know, this guy we've seen at the World Juniors, World Championships, Olympics, 6'3", 205 pounds, very good defender, you know, not necessarily um incapable
offensively, but he's going to sort of make his money as a shutdown guy, especially in zone with that big body. and he can move the puck, he can skate well, got a booming shot. But I think that Winnipeg has a, if we're being honest, like a fair amount of holes long term in terms of their prospect pipeline. So, they just go with, I suppose, the safe pick here. Um, in terms of, you know, this guy is definitely going to be an NHL or this guy's definitely uh going to make an impact for a long time. Yeah. When Lavia kind of gave USA a bit of a scare there at the Olympics, I thought Smiths looked like outstanding. He played top four minutes at the Olympics in his draft gear. Like I'm a huge fan of this player. Like if I'm the
one making a draft board or making the picks, I would have him as like a top five guy. Like I really like his talent. He plays this aggressive style at both ends of the ice. It gets him in some trouble at times, but I think you would rather have an aggressive player who you got to reign in a little bit in some of his decision-m than somebody that's a little too passive. And like a draft eligible defenseman playing top four minutes in a pro league all season long in Finland, playing top four minutes at the Olympics and looking pretty good in those minutes. and then going on alone to the German league.
Brand new league for him uh because his Finnish league team didn't make the playoffs. So, he goes on alone late in the season, plays a handful of games in the German league and then plays in the playoffs. And he's playing 18 to 20 minutes on his brand new team in the playoffs in the German league. Like, this is a guy who if he came over and was playing junior hockey. I'm very fascinated where he would rank up with a lot of the stats of some of these other guys. when we talk about all the players that are on this board right now, would not be shocked if Albert Smith is the one defenseman here that is playing in the NHL next season.
I like it. Yeah, we said I think we said because we saw what Slavoski did when he had the chance in the Olympics and we sat here and we said he's got the most to gain and pretty much nothing to lose with going to the Olympics and he absolutely delivered. So, I definitely like that pick. Two more picks left. We have the Florida Panthers picking ninth. Who do you have them going with? Josh, I'll I'll let you take this one away cuz I remember where this guy went in our last mock. Yeah, I got Ty and Lawrence in our last mock. Yes, I took him one. Turned out to be a big reach at the time, but I think he's still very much worthy of a top 10 pick. Uh, this is a guy who's an outstanding skater, really good two-way
player. Um, he started his season in the USL, was tearing it up, made the switch over to the NCAA, didn't go as well out of the hop, but he got better as the year went on. And I think this is a guy the Florida Panthers would love to have. I see a bit of like Ryan Mloud in his game. Like really good neutral zone transition player, good defensively, maybe not going to be a high-end point producer, but I think very much a top 10 pick. I think about that player type on the Florida Panthers as well. Like that's really I'm fascinated to see where Lawrence goes here because again, like we talk about a lot of these guys and some of the decisions they've made in terms of the teams that they've played on this season. If he doesn't
make the change mid-season, where does he go in the draft and he just continues tearing it up in the USA? But again, he's a better player because of that change he's made. So very curious. And then the other thing here is the two centers that we have here in the top 10, Kell Malhotra, Tynan Lawrence, will both be on the same team next year at BEu. So we're going to have a head-to-head comparison to see who the better player is next season, which is another fascinating thing for where you think about where Malhotra is not playing in the NCAA and maybe his draft stock being better because of playing in the OL versus Lawrence who was [clears throat] tearing it up in the USL and we had him
as a first overall contender. Then he makes the move to be put up the production to be in that same category. Yeah, it's very interesting and it's always like this especially with how much the NCAA has grown where we were sitting here projecting first because we thought he might go and absolutely tear it up and be a no doubter thing. But um I mean I think it's still going to take time for scouts and for you know the panelists like us to kind of really adjust to the difference in NCAA scoring versus OHL and all that stuff. So Tan Lawrence Knights to the Florida Panthers. Our last pick of the top 10 here, the Nashville Predators drafting.
Uh Kyle, who do you got? This would not be the score mock draft without Ethan Belchess going in the top 10 here. Uh favorite of the show, both of you, Levi in the control room there for Adrian. This is one of the most unique players in the entire draft and really one of the most unique players we've seen in some time in like an NHL draft. This is a guy who was drafted into the OHL at 6'5, 220 lbs. Wow. That's insane being that big. It is unbelievable. Like we think about some of these huge guys in the NHL right now and a lot of their stories are like small guy has growth spurt at like 15, 16, 17 and becomes like this new age
type player. No, Ethan Belchettz I think has been 6'5 since he was 5 years old, something like that. Um but he has the skill to go with it which is unique for a guy who's been a guy his whole career. Um the 34 goals that you can see on the screen there this season, he's more of a playmaker than you would expect for a guy his size but he has the physicality to his game as well. When you think about what the Predators did in last year's draft, getting a guy who's all compete and Brady Martin, the idea of Martin down the middle and Belchett's on his wing terrier terrifying for any defenseman who was going back on a retrieval with his back turned to the four checkers.
Yeah, they got Matthew Wood, too, who's also big guy. Yeah. This lines up with sort of the Predators ethos. So, yeah, I like it. Eric Lindros 2.0, as I once proclaimed, uh, goes 10th to the Nashville Predators. There we have it. The top 10 picks. If you want picks 11 through 16, be sure to check those out in an article that we have coming out in the score app. Fun exercise. I'm excited to do this again. We'll do it one more time, I think, just before the draft happens. If you agree with these picks or if you disagree, be sure to let us know in the comments. And we'll catch you guys in the next episode.
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